Eagles didn't need total overhaul

Mike Dill/For The TimesPromoting Juan Castillo to defensive coordinator was part of an overhaul that the Eagles didn't need.

Whose idea was it that the Eagles needed what amounted to a total overhaul of the team after last year’s playoff loss to the eventual champion Green Bay Packers?

Hey, the Eagles 21-16 loss to Green Bay was the Packers closest game throughout the postseason. Sure the Eagles needed a tweak here and there, what they didn’t need was what they did that has left them a 3-6 mess headed nowhere near the playoffs.

Let’s start with the firing of defensive coordinator Sean McDermott, which was applauded by most fans.

Here’s my take on that. Never fire a coach unless you have a better coach ready to replace him.

Did the Eagles have someone better than McDermott?

Obviously not, because after at least two or three potential coaches turned the job down, the Eagles decided to move offensive line coach Juan Castillo across the ball to run the defense.

Now, really who would you rather have McDermott or Castillo?

Before you answer think about the players McDermott had last year and the ones Castillo has this year.

Instead of firing the bright, young, innovative McDermott maybe they should have surrounded him with a better staff, such as line coach Jim Washburn and secondary coach Johnnie Lynn, some better players and given him another year.

McDermott held Green Bay to 21 points in that playoff loss. You think Castillo’s defense, even with a better staff and better players, would do the same this year?

Castillo, one of the best people in the entire organization, is so miscast right now it’s almost sad to watch.

The Eagles haven’t blown five fourth-quarter leads this season by accident. It’s been by design, the design of the defense.

Again, what the Eagles should have done is left Castillo where he belonged as the offensive line coach.

Howard Mudd, who came out of retirement to coach the Eagles offensive line, made his name in Indianapolis protecting quarterback Peyton Manning.

Not for nothing, but that wasn’t a real tough task. Manning makes most of his own line calls and gets rid of the ball as quickly as any quarterback anywhere.

One of the reasons for the Eagles miserable record this year is Mike Vick’s health. There’s a reason Vick hasn’t played nearly as well this season as he did last season and it’s because he’s either running away from trouble, or picking himself up off the ground.

Mudd and his offensive line keep getting rave reviews from the national media, but every time I look up Vick is taking another big hit. The last one left him with two broken ribs that leaves likely out for Sunday’s game with the Giants
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Speaking of Vick, the Eagles had another decision to make. Both the quarterback and wide receiver DeSean Jackson were free agents to be. Chances are one of them would get a new deal before the season began. There was a slight chance both would.

Well, the Eagles picked Vick and gave him a $100 million deal and now it appears Jackson is all but gone as a free agent next season.

Would it have hurt to let Vick play for the franchise tag this season and see how he did before rewarding him with the mega-deal?

Jackson, who is still vastly underpaid — all you need to know is Steve Smith makes almost four times as much as Jackson – would have been a better choice to reward with a new deal at the start of the season. Chances are with a new deal he would have been able to buy a better alarm clock to make those early morning meetings.

Personnel-wise the Eagles went wild; they let almost all their free agents walk, including kicker David Akers and punter Sav Rocca and went after every high-profile player available.

This team was so baffled by what it had that two opening-day starters, guard Kyle DeVan and safety Jarrad Page have been released. And the last time anyone saw opening day middle linebacker Casey Matthews was on a milk carton.

Did they need to do all of that and fill out such an unbalanced roster that is overloaded with talent in some areas, but lacks badly on the offensive line, at linebacker and safety?
No, they didn’t.